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Evelyn A. Salt might be in the fight of her life onscreen in "Salt." But the true fate of the character lies in the hands of weekend movie-goers.

Should the public flock to the multiplexes, we will likely see a sequel to the action flick. Director Phillip Noyce tells PopcornBiz he'll be basing any "Salt" return on the weekend's box office results which he will be monitoring carefully.

"You'll have to ask me that question Monday morning at 9 a.m.," he said when asked if the chances of reprising the character.

The offscreen box-office struggle looks just as deadly, with "Salt" fighting for the top spot against last weekend's monster opening of the critically acclaimed "Inception." Should "Salt" pass this test, finding another way to tell a "Salt" story will be the relatively easy part.

"There are a lot of stories out there that could be told," says Noyce. "But we'll wait for the audience to tell us if they want Evelyn to come back."

Noyce even calls "Salt" an "origin story" which features the kind of ending the implies that there is more to the story.

A big part of whether this origin takes will be the general public's appetite for a female action hero. Jolie is dead convincing as a suspected Russian sleeper spy fighting for her life -- and knocking a few heads along the way. But other female action stars have fallen along the way.